Propelling power eor clocks



J. MES' 2 Sheets--Shet1- Clock.

Patented Feb. 24, 1845.

j 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Clock.

No. 3,928. 4 Patentedfeb. 24, 1845.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH IVES, OF BRISTOL, CONNECTICUT.

PROPELLING- POWER FOR CLOCKS.

Specfication of Letters Patent No. 3,928, dated February 24, 1845.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JosErH IvEs, of Bristol, in the county of Hartford and State of Connect-icut, have invented a new and useful improvement in the propelling-power of clocks and other timepieces, by which a regular first mover and maintaining power is obtained without the use of a weight or a co-iled spring and fusee, which improvement is described as follows, reference being had to the annexed drawing of the same, making part of this specification.

Figure l is a front elevation. Fig. 2 is an elevation of a second modification.

I make use of a spring A' Fig. 1, single or with leaves, fastened by its center to the bottom of the clock case or in any convenient place. This spring constitutes the firstmover and maintaining power. Now if the cord or chain B that is usually wound on the barrel be attached directly to the extremity of this spring it would draw the said cord or chain with more force, and unwind a greater quantity of it from the barrel, at one time than another; so that the movement of the' clock would never be regular. To correct this irregularity of the spring I have contrived to have the end of the spring applied to a curved lever C of the second order to which the cord or chain B' is connected which lever is continnally increasing in length and power in the same ratio that the force of the spring decreases or becomes weaker as it extends itself, thus maintaining the action of the spring regularly and equally which is the great desideratum in the Construction of clocks with plain springs instead of the heretofore used cumbersome and expensive weights.

As it has been found by me that the weakening of the spring is not precisely in proportion to the increase of the angle formed by a straight lever with a Vertical plane, therefore the lever should not be made straight but experience shows that it should be curved so as to approximate to the figure represented at C in Fig. 1. It should likewise be notched on the npper side as at c c so that the action of the spring may be augmented or diminished at pleas` ure by changing the position of the connect ing link L on said lever. The fulcrum of the lever may be placed at the side of the case or in any convenient situaton. The cord or chain 13 to be wound around the axle of the wheel may be attached to the end of the lever by any suitable means. It is then wound around a small aXle E on which there is a large wheel F around which the cord is wound; from this wheel it is conveyed to the barrel G of the clock to the circumference of which it is attached in the usual way.

One end of the spring may be made to operate the time part of the clock and the other the striking part, the cord of the striking part being arranged on the same principle. Both ends of the spring, however, may be made to act on the barrel of the time part of the clock by carrying the cords or chains around a central aXle I, Fig. 2, on opposite sides; the ends of the springs and levers being adjusted to correspond therewith on which aXle a large grooved wheel J is placed to which the chain or cord K is attached and from which it is carried to the barrel of the clock. By the above described arrangement it will be perceived that a great length of cord or chain can be made to wind and unwind on or from the barrel at a uniform and sufficient tension in a small case.

The levers may be difierently shaped from those above described and may be arranged in the center of the case or other place instead of the sides to produce the same result, for instance they may be made partly curved and partly straight with the fulcrum at the point where the curved and straight portions of the levers meet, having a pulley at the lower eXtremity of the straight partof the lever around which the cord from the barrel passes the cord from the end of the spring being attached to the upper or curved arm of the lever.

lVhen the diameter of the aXle E is diminished and that of the wheel F is increased for the purpose of gaining a greater length of barrel-cord the power of the spring must he augmented in a proportionate degree by adding leaves thereto as shown at A& Fg. 1, by which any necessary degree of power may be obtaned for unWndng constructed and arranged precsely in the any required length of cord from the barrel nanner described or in any other mode sub- 10 Wthut stranng the spring. stantally the same-Fg. 1.

XV lat I claim as n nventon and desre 5 to secure by Letters l atent is- JOSEPH IVES' The mode of equalzng the tension of the YVtnesses: cord or chan of the barr-el by the eombna- WM. P. ELLIOT, ton of the lever, link, and spring whether EDW. MAHER. 

